How to Form a Conglomerate Organizational Chart

Conglomerate organizations are corporations that have multiple revenue streams from business activities that are completely unrelated. An organizational chart is a visual representation of company’s hierarchy, reporting structure and lines of communication, and employee names, job titles, and responsibilities. The chart design is dependent on the type and structure of the organization; the different business units of conglomerate organizations need to be treated as separate business entities with only the top executives included on each organizational chart. Although there is specific organizational charting software available, it is possible to construct a professional-looking organizational chart using Microsoft Word.

Instructions

Open Microsoft Word and click on the Insert tab. Click on the Shapes tab and then the rectangle shape.

Construct the rectangle by clicking where you want to start the top left of the box and while still holding down the left clicker on the mouse, drag the rectangle to the size you want.

Right click on the rectangle, in the drop down box select the Add Text option. Type in the name and the title of the highest ranking professional within the conglomerate organization to begin the hierarchical structure of the first business unit.

Click the Insert tab followed by the Shapes tab again. In the drop down box, select the basic line option and draw multiple lines in the same manner as the rectangle from the top rectangle to the next level of authority.

Add additional boxes as necessary to complete the next layer of management. Repeat the same steps of inserting rectangles with text and connecting them with lines for as many levels of authority your organization needs to represent.

Tips

Consider switching the Word document to landscape view to allow for more width to complete the organizational structure.

Filling in rectangles with certain colors to represent each level of authority makes your organizational chart look more professional and allows for easy chart comparison between different business units.

To increase the value and effectiveness of your organizational chart, rectangles can include more than just job titles and names; some in-depth charts include job responsibilities, accountabilities, and deliverables.

In large conglomerate organizations, it is not necessary to include every employee's name and job title within the organizational chart; instead, especially for the lowest level of employees, you can create the level of authority with only a handful of boxes with the generic job title.

Start your hierarchical structure small and confined at the top to allow for ample room to expand as your chart gets closer to representing lower-level employees.

If your organizational chart needs to be printed, you may have to use oversized paper.

References

About the Author

Shane Thornton has published business-related on eHow.com. In addition to business, his other areas of interest include sports, traveling and entertainment. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business management from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business.